Hampshire police to carry out knife sweep in Victoria Park, Portsmouth
Police will sweep a Portsmouth park for knives
Police in Portsmouth are holding a community knife sweep to check for weapons hidden in a city centre park.
The force says that the Portsea and Landport local policing team will be in Victoria Park on Monday, May 18 between 3pm and 4pm. As well as looking for and removing weapons, they will also give advice about knife crime, including how to report concerns.
They said: “This is a great opportunity for us to work together as a community to help make our area safer by removing any weapons that could cause harm.
“We encourage residents, families, and community members to come along, show their support, and be part of a positive effort to tackle knife crime locally. Together, we can make a difference.”
National Knife Crime Awareness Week runs from May 18 to May 24.
In Hampshire, serious offences involving a knife reduced from 1,035 offences in the year ending June 2024 to 936 offences in the year ending June 2025.
Nationally, in the the 12 months to March 2025, 52 young people under the age of 25 were killed with a knife or sharp instrument. Fourteen were under 16 and 22 were teenagers. The number of teenagers killed fell from 54 the previous year, so more than halved. Across all age groups, knife-related killings fell by 21 per cent, the lowest number since 2015.
Last week it was revealed that more than £600,000 is being spent tackling knife crime in Hampshire, with a focus on Portsmouth and Southampton.
Police and crime commissioner Donna Jones announced that more than £611,000 will be coming to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary from the government’s Knife Crime Concentration Fund.
Knife Crime Awareness Week is run by the Ben Kinsella Trust, which campaigns against and educates on knife crime. It was found by the family of Ben, who was stabbed to death aged 16 in London in June 2008 after being out to celebrate the end of his GCSEs.
Ben Kinsella Trust CEO Patrick Green said: “Knife Crime Awareness Week is an opportunity for everyone to understand the devastating impact that knife crime can have on individuals and communities, and more importantly, to take action to stop it. By working together, we can raise awareness of this important issue and help to prevent more lives being lost to this senseless violence.”